"Bitter Sweet Summer"
What a summer it has been. It is always exciting to get to work with our returning athlete's who have come home from college. It is also encouraging to help those motivated athlete's who make the extra effort to get better for their future and their school. Whether it's a young athlete trying to make pop warner football, a JV athlete trying to fight for a starting spot on varsity or someone trying to win a scholarship. We have been working hard to teach everyone the right way to train for success.
Of course training is a combination of so many different variables and every athlete is different in his or her needs. That is why it is so important for us at Athlete's Arena to continue to learn and grow as professionals. We have to make sure we are addressing everyone's needs in order to keep them safe in the weightroom, improve their risiliance to injury on the field or court and make them the strongest, fastest, most determined people in the game.
After working my way through a great book on long term athletic development, I say work because I am a slow reader and refuse to move on until I grasp the concept the author is trying to get across, I decided to implement some of the principles I learned from the book. I had someone in mind who I have worked with for three years and already possessed the skills necessary to start the program as soon as he got home from college.
First, we needed to get some baseline numbers that measured his current abilities. We measured his vertical, pro shuttle and broad jump among other evaluations. One of his goals was to put on some weight. This was at the request of his coaches. They wanted him 20-25lbs heavier and to maintain his quickness at the same time. We also discovered some serious hip mobility issues that had to be addressed. Once we had the right information about his current status we were off to the races with training
After just a little under 8 weeks of training in the weight room, on the field for conditioning and eating right this athlete gained 11lbs. of lean mass. He went from a 33.5 inch vertical to 35.5 inches. He went up 6 inches on his broad jump and he dropped 2 tenths of a second on his pro agility shuttle. In the weight room he squated 375lbs. for 4 sets of 4 reps with ease. His previous 1 rep maximum best he had tested at school after spring workouts was 375lbs. Needless to say he was pretty fired up about his summer results. He was really worried about his conditioning test. I told him "your ready, don't worry". He passed it with flying colors and said he even made the skilled positions times. He's a defensive lineman.
He along with the rest of our athlete's are back in school now. Some we won't see until christmas. That's the bitter part. Others who are close by and have the drive to win will find a way to train and keep getting better. If your ready to knock the socks off the competition come by and we will explain how to get started. Have a great school year everybody.
Shane Miller
Performance Coach